Lamborn has joined with other representatives to cut spending by $74 billion by the end of the government’s current fiscal year. "This would reduce spending to what it was in 2008 before the recession, the stimulus and the bailout," he said.

He is sure this proposal will pass the House but will be a hard sell in the Senate.

Lamborn is also proposing cutting spending by $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years.

He supports several bills that would require the federal government to balance its budget and applauded Colorado’s Democratic Sen. Mark Udall for his balanced budget proposal.

He said Obama’s proposal to freeze spending at current levels won’t work. "Freezing the budget at its current high level is not the same as taking it down," he said. "We have to lower spending and learn to live within our means."

Lamborn also questioned the president’s proposal that 85 percent of the nation’s energy come from renewable sources by 2035.

"I don’t think the technology is ready for us to do that," Lamborn said. "I think we need to use what we have. Artificial restrictions add to the price of energy and to the cost of everything else."

Lamborn proposes making it easier to produce energy from public lands. Later he said the administration is biased against hydrocarbon fuels. "I think their ‘global warming’ predictions are exaggerated," he said. "We don’t want to hurt ourselves now over something that may or may not happen in the far and distant future."

On the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Lamborn reminded his audience that the House voted for repeal but the Senate didn’t.

"They did do one thing right when they rejected the 1099 provision," he said. "The House can get behind that."

The 1099 provision requires businesses to report payments to any vendor that total more than $600 in a tax year to the IRS. If it isn’t repealed it will go into effect in 2012.

Lamborn also answered questions from the audience, the majority of which were about immigration. Lamborn said he is in favor of fencing out illegal immigrants, in favor of guest worker programs that aren’t pathways to citizenship and asks that we enforce immigration laws already on the books.

Woodland Park Councilmember Dave Turley asked that the government make sure that defense spending is really for defense and not just earmarks.

Lamborn said the House, Senate and president have all promised that they will not introduce or approve bills with earmarks.

On jobs, Lamborn said cutting government spending, balancing the budget and limiting government will help create jobs and that he is not in favor of government-created jobs.

One man said the government could cut spending by getting rid of any department not specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.

Lamborn responded with, "The Department of Energy hasn’t produced a single barrel of oil."

Lamborn finished by saying he will cosponsor House Rule 412, which, if approved, would repeal a Consumer Product Safety Commission ban on youth-sized motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles because of lead. One man said the ban is not necessary because kids don’t chew on motorcycle parts.